Clothes-pin.



J. A. FREEZE.

CLOTHES PIN.

APPLICATION I'ILED NOV.11, 190a.

Patented July 13, 1909.

TINT STATE% PAENT UFFTQE.

JOHN A. FREEZE, OF LYTTON SPRINGS, TEXAS.

CLOTHES-PIN.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN A. FREEZE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Lytton Springs, in the county of Caldwell and State of Texas, have invented a new and useful Clothes-Pin, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to clothes pins of that general class shown and described in former United States Letters Patent issued to me on the 9th day of July 1907, under No. 859648.

The object of the invention is generally to improve and simplify the construction of the clothes pin and provide means for positively locking the same on a clothes line.

A further object is to extend the spring clamping fingers to the upper end of the pin and to form said fingers with depressions or sockets adapted to receive a clothes line and thus prevent accidental movement of the clothes )in-with respect thereto.

A still further object of the invention is generally to improve this class of devices so as to increase their utility, durability and efficiency as well as to reduce the cost of manufacture.

Further objects and advantages will appear in the following description, it being understood that various changes in form, proportions and minor details of construction may be resorted to within the scope of the appended claim.

In the accompanying drawings forming a )art of this specification :Figure 1 is a front elevation of a portion of a clothes line showing a clothes pin constructed in accordance with my invention in position thereon. Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of one of the clothes pins detached.

Similar numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts in all of the figures of the drawings.

The improved clothes pin forming the subject matter of the present invention is preferably formed of a single piece of wire, an intermediate portion of which is bent upon itself and the wire strands intertwisted and extended laterally to form a loop or operating handle 5. The strands constituting one wall of the loop 5 are bent laterally at 6, and thence extended u wardly to form a pair of substantially parallel arms 7, the wire at the free ends of the arms being inter-twisted to Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed November 11, 1908.

Patented July 13, 1909.

Serial No. 462,145.

form co-incident coils 8 and thence extended downwardly to form a garment engaging loop 9, the end of which is deflected laterally, as indicated at 10. The strands of wire constituting the opposite wall of the handle 5 are bent or twisted around the base of the arms 7, as indicated at 11 and thence extended upwardly between the arms 7 and through the loop 9 to form a pair of spring clamping fingers 12 adapted to engage the garment 13 and clamp the latter on the line 14.

The intermediate portions of the spring clamping lingers 12 are formed with transversely alined depressions or sockets 15 adapted to receive the line 14 and thus lock the pin positively against accidental displacement. The upper ends of the spring clamping fingers are extended between the coils 8 and are provided with curved terminals 16 so as to prevent tearing the clothes and also to prevent lacerating or otherwise injuring or cutting the hand of the operator.

Attention is here called to the fact that the spring clamping lingers 12 normally extend between the walls of the loop 10 with the terminals 16 thereof disposed in advance of and spaced from the loops 8 so that when the clothes pin is positioned over the line 14 with the deflected terminal of the loop 9 over the garment and said pin forced doumwardly, the spring lingers 12 will be forced laterally between the walls of the eyes 8 until the sockets or depressions 15 register with the line and in which position said fingers will spring outwardly against the line and thus lock the garment in position thereon. It will also be noted that by having the spring clamping lingers formed with the depression or socket 15, said lingers not only clamp the garment in engagement with the line, but also force said garment against the adjacent walls of the depending loop 9 thus forming a double lock and effectually preventing accidental displacement of both the clothes pin and garment.

By extending the terminals 15 of the fingers upwardly between the co-incident eyes 8 and making said fingers of substantially the same length as the arms 7, a greater clamping action is obtained, while the rounded portion 17 of said lingers in conjunction with the eyes 8 bear against the line and serve to limit the downward movement of the clothes pin.

The clothes pin may be made in different sizes and shapes and may be galvanized, nickled or otherwise coated to protect the same against the action of the elements and also to prevent the same'from rusting or soiling the clothes.

Having thus described the invention what is claimed is A clothes pin formed from a single piece of wire an intermediate portion of which is bent upon itself and the Wire strands intertwisted and extended laterally to form a handle, the strands of Wire forming one wall of the handle being extended laterally to form substantially parallel arms and then twisted to produce registering coils terminating in a depending garment engaging loop the free end of which is deflected laterally, the strands of wire forming the opposite wall of the handle being coiled around the base of the arm and then extended upwardly through the deflected end of the loop to form a pair of spring fingers terminating in laterally curved portions adopted to register with the register' ing coils and clamp a garment in engagement with said loop, the intermediate portions of the arms being bent laterally at the base of the curved terminals thereof to produce registering depressions normally projecting through the loop near the registering coils and adapted to receive a clothes line.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto affiXed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

JOHN A. FREEZE.

Witnesses:

PINK ROBERTS, J. A. Con. 

